Unlicensed Driver Crashes Into Store

An unlicensed driver sent her car crashing through the front windows of a North Hollywood convenience store Thursday night, slightly injuring two people inside, Los Angeles police said.

Christina Rodriguez, 18, of Burbank was driving in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven store at Magnolia and Cahuenga boulevards about 9:45 p.m. when “she missed the brake and hit the gas,” Officer Ron Weimer said.

The car lurched forward and smashed through the store’s plate-glass windows, plowing through racks of snack foods before stopping in front of the checkout counter, Weimer said. No damage estimate was available, and owner Betty Contreras said she was able to open for business Friday morning after sweeping up piles of shattered glass.

Rodriguez was unhurt in the crash. But two customers, Mark Montesinos, 24, of North Hollywood and Monty Leupp, 45, of San Diego were slightly injured, Weimer said. Montesinos was treated at AMI Medical Center of North Hollywood for scrapes on his legs and arms and was released. Leupp was examined by paramedics at the store after he complained of pain in his right leg, but he was not hospitalized.

Rodriguez will not be cited because the accident occurred on private property, Weimer said.